Accord Mortgages has removed the requirement to certify certain documents from its mortgage application process.
The intermediary-only lender will now accept photocopies of required identification documents without an endorsement that it is a true copy of the original.
Accord hopes the move will allow documents such as passports and driving licences to be uploaded quicker in the application process and improve the broker experience.
The changes will also be implemented across the wider Yorkshire Building Society group.
Documents relating to power of attorney or bereavement are exempt from the recent changes however, and will still require certified copies or originals to be submitted.
Jeremy Duncombe, director at Accord Mortgages, said: "Removing the requirement for borrowers to supply certified documents, at the same time as ensuring other risk controls we have in place give us certainty over applicants’ identity, addresses a known pain point and makes the application quicker and smoother for everyone.
"We are pleased to now be one of few lenders able to offer this and believe it shows our commitment to do everything we can to help brokers and their customers."
Rachel Lummis, mortgage adviser at Xpress Mortgages, appreciated the move.
She said: "Accord, like many others before them, are removing the requirement to certify client identification documents, which will save a few minutes per case meaning advisers do not need to stamp, certify, scan and upload to the lender and can now simply upload the document.
"Those few minutes are not exactly life changing - but where it will be a massive help is in the event of having sent all the required items to the lender in expectation of a mortgage offer, if then the lender points out you forgot to certify a page.
"Where you would usually have to resend it and then wait in a five-day queue for the document to be assessed again, this is where the removal of certification will add value along with those few saved minutes."
But Ms Lummis said there was an issue with lenders having different rules regarding certifying documents.
She also said there was often a compliance requirement for advisers to hold certified identification on file and solicitors often required the same.
She said: "One tends to just certify everything in any case rather than look up the lender's criteria each time to see if they are one of the lenders who do or do not.
"Whether it'd be the lender, the solicitor or compliance there is normally a need to certify documents in any case.
"It would be helpful to see identification requirements the same across all lenders - a small minefield and a more standard and simplified process surrounding the certification of identification and documents would be most welcomed."
rachel.addison@ft.com
